


Fall Hard

by ReyReySolo



Category: Reylo - Fandom, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, BEN SOLO IN BOXER BRIEFS, BEN SOLO SHIRTLESS, BIG FALL BIG MAN GO BOOM, Baby Rey, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Bleeding Head Wound, Dry Humor Ben Solo, F/M, Fluffy, Flustered Rey, Gentle Daddy-ish Ben Solo, Modern AU, Neighbors, ReyIsAGoodHuman, Reylo - Freeform, Sick Ben Solo, Soft Ben Solo, Sports Bra, Sweet Rey, Virgin Ben Solo, adorable Rey, crack!, hoodie sharing, it ends ok, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:40:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24012979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReyReySolo/pseuds/ReyReySolo
Summary: Rey and Ben are neighbors. They've never spoke. Until one night, Ben falls hard and things are never again the same.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 15
Kudos: 203





	Fall Hard

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SpaceMinstrels](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=SpaceMinstrels).



> A Gift for @SpaceMinstrels supporting her fundraiser for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance in memory of her loving and beautiful mother and grandmother. Lucy, we love you and we stand with you in your current fight!  
> Please Donate here, it would mean the world:  
> https://fundraise.ccalliance.org/lucyc

Rey had rarely seen him. Just every once in a while slipping in and out of his apartment either when it's been too early in the morning for her to just be arriving home or too late for her to be leaving. He was always going in the opposite direction of her. He worked long, hard days. He was nearly never home. Always silence on his side of their shared paper thin walls. She wondered what he was like - on the outside he seemed stoic, firm, commanding. But what did she know? They had never even exchanged more than a glance, only rare nods he might give in her direction every other time they passed. He was tall and broad, meticulously dressed. Sharp in both his features and his accoutrements.  _ He must make a lot of money _ Rey thought to herself. Yet, this idea also seemed to contrast with the setting in where she finds him. I mean, it's not like they lived in a garbage dump, but considering how well-dressed and sophisticated Ben always looked and how utterly normal this apartment complex was, well, it must’ve been a real downgrade for him, she surmised. It wasn’t that Rey thought about him often but she was growing more and more curious… 

It was unusual to see him this often. At first, it just started once or twice a week, she would notice that he seemed to be coming home earlier. Then he seemed to be leaving a little later. Over the course of two more weeks, his eyes were beginning to look puffier, his suits a little less crisp. What was happening to her neighbor? Surely, it must just be a work project wearing on him… maybe he’s working more from home… 

Then one night, it happened. She was humming around her apartment doing a little late night rearranging of knick knacks to some soft soothing music in her cozy robe. She had her hair up in one of those messy late night buns. Then all of the sudden…. THUD. CRASH. OWW. She heard these loud unsettling sounds through the other side of her wall. 

She ran over to the wall of incidence.

“HELLO!!!

HELLO!!!”

No answer...

“SIR, ARE YOU OK!?”

…. Some undiscernible moaning

Rey thought. What should she do? 

She knocked on the walls, yelling for a sign of consciousness. But no answer. 

There remained some faint, somewhat delirious moaning.. 

She couldn’t just sit by. He could be hurt, she thought. 

She looked down at herself. A robe, pajama shorts… Well, she at least had on a sports bra. She couldn’t be bothered with more clothing, not now. That fall was so loud, his response so minimal. She was too concerned to change. 

She ran out the hallway and knocked on the door.

No answer. 

_ I may as well just try the door _ , she thought to herself. 

She turned the knob with shy bravery. Thankfully, for some reason it had been left unlocked.

Rey listened for the moans… heading towards the walls that met her apartment.

She turned down the short hallway and there she saw him

Laying on the floor, moaning, sweaty, shirtless ( _ Thank God for boxer briefs _ , she thought)

He was face down surrounded by broken glass.. 

“Oh My GOD! Are you okay?!”

“Mhhmmm… mm… ow…” Ben moaned.

“I.. I’m Rey.. I'm your neighbor… I heard the noise” Rey bent down after tiptoeing through the minefield of shards, gently touching his exposed muscular shoulder. 

“Im Ben..” he said, almost questionably, as he turned over. 

“Well… um Ben.. I… OH MY GOD --- You’re bleeding --- Your face is bleeding!” Rey yelled as the trench along the right side of his face created by a long broken edge of the shattered vase that was its match on the floor was revealed to her.

“Oh… oh… OH GOD!” he yelled as he saw the blood on the top of his right hand… 

Ben tried to get up… but he was woozy and sweaty and completely weak.. 

“Don't worry.. Uh… don't worry. I’ll get you to the hospital” Rey got up and ran around the apartment looking for something, anything to get Ben up onto. Finally she saw it - a desk chair. She grabbed it and swiveled it down the hallway. 

“Come on Ben… get up, get up!” 

Ben put his forearms up onto the chair 

“One…. two.. three.. Errrgh” Rey grunted as she tried to hoist Ben up wrapping her arms around his naked waist and pulling him upward arching her back but making little real progress. Ben lunged forward and pushed himself up. He turned as Rey almost fell backward and slammed his hips down onto the seat.

Ben was big… Rey knew he was tall but the sheer mass of him was astounding this close up…

“Um… clothes! Clothes! You need clothes.”

“In there” Ben pointed towards the open doorway. 

“Oh god! Oh god!” Ben yelled as he felt drips of blood fall onto his naked thigh. 

  
  


Rey ran into Ben’s bedroom… immaculate… wow… she couldn’t help but notice how tidy and organized it all was. And even though this was an emergency and now was not the time, she did peek around maybe a little more than was prudent. I mean, everything looked like it was set exactly where it should be… the alarm clock next to the lamp.. the elegant and masculine bedside tables next to the king size bed, the duvet perfectly in order without a wrinkle. THe man even had decorative pillows!! 

She walked over to the closet and opened it.. Suits, slacks, dress shirts.. A tie rack… uhh.. A side cabinet with shelves containing loafers and courdovans. A tray full of expensive watches organized by color gradient… There was nothing here that she could just quickly throw over his head… or his legs for that matter. 

“Ben - don't you have any normal clothes!?!” she screamed into the hallway

“Those ARE normal clothes!” He yelled, feeling slightly better, but also jacked up on adrenaline from the wound, his arms jittery. 

Rey ran to the dresser and started rummaging through drawers. Finally, in the bottom right drawer, there were a few hoodies and some basketball shorts.  _ Really, this is the only normal guy clothes he has,  _ she wondered, astounded that there was nothing in between the spectrum of fully classed up or  _ workout? _ She haphazardly grabbed a pair of shorts and a zip up

Sprinting into the hallway, “Ben, Ben arms up! Come on!” she said snapping her fingers. Ben put his arms up and out on command and she wiggled him into the zip-up one arm at a time. He was stiff like a resistant child being dressed for school in the morning. 

“Come on! Get these shorts on!” Rey bent down and Ben lifted his long, muscular legs up; she wiggled them up to his knees.

‘Finish the rest!” she yelled. Ben slowly pulled the shorts up, lifting his butt from off the chair.

Rey ran back into the room and dropped her robe on the floor and pulled one of his ridiculously large zip ups down over her bra.  _ What category is larger than Big & Tall? This has to be it.  _ The arms hung way past the end of her fingers. She rolled them up. The bottom of the sweater hanging over her bottom with just a tiny slip of her bright patterned pajama shorts poking through.

She emerged into the hallway and started pushing Ben towards the common area with all her strength as Ben helped with scooching and pedaling of his feet. Rey looked around and spotted his keys on the cabinet by the door with his phone and wallet. She grabbed them and tossed them into the hoodie pocket, feeling them weighing it down to her mid thigh, pulling the fabric from her left side towards her right. 

Ben pushed the door open and they made a sharp turn down the hall. She heard the elevator ding.. 

“Hold the DOOR! It’s an emergency… “ Rey yelled.

“I’m Bleeding!” Ben piped in. 

She saw a hand halfway sticking out. Ben rolled into the elevator.

“Troubles in La La Land!?” the redheaded thin man asked with a causal snark, delight filling his eyes

“Leave my wife alone!” Ben yelled. He was now becoming more delirious. Rey was scared for him but also felt a little thrill. 

“Alright.. Alright.. Buddy”

“Nobody calls me buddy… “ Ben trailed off. 

Finally the doors opened and Rey pushed Ben out the lobby through the front door and hailed a taxi

One cabbie stopped, glanced at Ben and appeared turned off by the potential fare. 

“I promise will make it worth your while” Rey said with desperation. She meant it anyway, I mean she had seen what Ben kept in his closet, she couldn’t imagine his heavy wallet would be any different.

“Oh fine” the cabbie said hesitantly and helped Rey lift Ben into the cab. 

The whole ride Rey kept slapping Ben in the chest every time his head tilted forward and he looked sleepy

“You could have a concussion!! Stay awake” 

“I was only resting my eyes, besides I wish I had a concussion” Ben mumbled with a yawn. 

They made it to the hospital. Ben was taken into the bustling triage and eventually taken to a tiny curtained off ‘room’ with barely any space for Rey to stand between him and the next bed. 

They went through the whole rigamarole of the resident, followed by the chief resident. Ben’s vitals were stable, he wasn't anemic. CT scan normal. The bleeding was taken care of by several stitches. Ben described some other symptoms that Rey had not been aware of and he was diagnosed with gastroenteritis and dehydration. Instructions and pain medicine at discharge. Aside from everyone assuming Rey was his wife and that she’d be there to take care of him… and that odd little moment where Ben was asked if he felt safe with her and screened for domestic abuse.. and then there was Ben’s delirious snarky comment that it was a bed injury as he slapped her behind unexpectedly, making the twerpy intern blush... Aside from all that, it was not the worst time she’d ever spent in the ER. Even though 5 hours felt a little unnecessary to be there waiting for discharge after they had been reassured everything was ok. 

Ben and Rey made it back to his apartment. This time he walked up himself to the elevator. He was still pale, but less delirious. When they walked through the door, Ben sat the Walgreen’s bag on the counter. 

“Ben, why don’t you go lay down? I’ll bring this stuff into you… You’ve been through a lot today”

“Really? You mean it?” 

“Yes, absolutely…I mean it, you split your head open!”

“Mmm.. that I did”

Rey unpacked the bag and scuttled around the kitchen. Opening cupboards and banging around. She found an old box of herbal tea and started some water to boil on the stove. She unpacked the pedialyte and ibuprofen from the bag. She filled a Ziploc with some ice from the freezer fridge and then wrapped the bag up in a hand towel. She carefully balanced all these things in her arms and carried them, plus the cup of tea, down the hall into Ben’s room. 

There he was under the covers, laying on his side in the fetal position facing the doorway. Rey gently emptied the items from her arms onto his bedside table and took the makeshift ice pack and applied it over most swollen area where Ben received stitches, above his brow. 

“Ouch!” Ben yelled

“Oh sorry, sorry”

“No, its ok… its nice”

“What’s been going on with you, Ben? I mean to be honest you’ve been different for a few weeks now… at work less, looking exhausted.. Surely, it hasn’t been just this”

“Well, actually, a few weeks ago, I found out I had mono” Ben noticed Rey’s look “HEY HEY before you say anything, I DIDN'T get it from kissing, that’s a lie… besides I’ve never done much…”

“Much what?”

“...kissing….” he said shyly looking into her eyes “Anyways… I felt sick as a dog for weeks, they said I’m past the point of transmitting….”

“Hmm”

“I.. uh…” Ben said, staring at her lips…  _ Was it obvious? Can she tell? _ “I was feeling terrible the last two days and today I could barely focus and I went to get some water from the kitchen and for some reason I put it in a glass pitcher and got dizzy and then just went down, and well that’s where you came in. Thanks for doing that, by the way.”

“Well, I’ve actually been worried about you. It just all seemed unusual. We see each other sometimes and we’ve never really talked but I felt like.. I don’t know maybe you would even have done the same for me”

“Yes, I like to think so. I’ve kind of always wanted to talk to you but never really had the courage…”

“You? Have the courage to talk to me? Well, that’s rich!” Rey was bewildered and rolled her eyes in almost certain disbelief.

“Yes. I am. But that’s not all there is to me”

“Ben.. I wasn’t saying.. Have you ever..” Rey scoffed

“Rey, Rey, I’m kidding ok… Dry humor… unlike the carpet in the hallway…”

Rey smirked and let out a half giggle. They looked into each other's eyes as Rey continued to hold the ice pack on Ben’s forehead. 

“Well, I better get going. You need some rest to heal”

“Rey… I, uh… would you stay here with me? It’s ok if you don’t want to. I just, I kind of don’t want to be alone”

Rey thought about it for a second and bit her lower lip. She did want to stay, actually… It felt nice to be wanted and useful.  _ I mean who’s going to empty the vomit bucket if he needs it tonight. I mean, I’ve already been exposed to gastroenteritis at this point… _

“Ok, Ben. I’ll stay”

“Thanks, I really appreciate it. There’s an extra bed in the room across the hall”

“Is it ok.. If I stay in here? With you? I mean above the covers…”

“Sure, if you want. You can bring in the duvet from the spare room, if that’s what you want.”

“I do. I mean what if you fall out of bed and I can’t hear you from the other room” Rey teased. 

“Oh yeah that would be bad” Ben laughed

Rey and Ben fell asleep, back to back. The warmth felt nice. The feeling of another body beside her for the first time. She’d never fallen asleep so fast. 

When she awoke to the sun shining onto the bed, then she noticed. Laying on her back there he was sleeping with his head gently centered on her chest, his left arm strewn across her waist. He was lightly snoring, a little spec of drool slowly oozing from the corner of his mouth increasing the darkening spot which had appeared on the zip up that still swallowed her small frame. She brought her left hand and ran her fingers gently over his exposed cheek, tracing across his ear until they met the hair that she began to lovingly tousle and explore. One thing was for sure, she might wash it, but he was never getting this sweater back and his bed would never be a lonely place again. 


End file.
